Jiang Muxuan looked at Jiang Murong.
Seeing him with his head lowered, hands clenched until white, slightly trembling, he realized that Third Brother knew something about the matter too.
Jiang Muxuan’s face darkened. For the first time, he lost his temper with his brother.
“Why aren’t you telling us what you know? Do you want Muyi to die? Don’t you want him back?”
Jiang Murong shook his head and lifted his tear-streaked face. “I… I didn’t realize it was this serious. That person said… as long as you went to that place, there would be lots of money to earn.”
“I… I didn’t believe it at first, but I told Second Brother, and he said observing it would be fine, so he took the risk—”
This had been a trap set in advance. How could they have detected the problem so easily?
Jiang Yuyan stayed silent, while Jiang Muxuan was so furious he wanted to stand up and beat his two reckless brothers.
They had been easily deceived and almost turned into scapegoats. How dare they…
Jiang Muxuan stared despondently at his unresponsive legs, pounding them again and again.
It was all his fault. He had caused two naive brothers to take risks, and now it had landed Muyi in jail.
Bang, bang, bang…
Jiang Yuyan frowned and quickly grabbed Jiang Muxuan’s arms to stop him from hitting himself.
“Big Brother, what are you doing? Stop it. Second Brother hasn’t been rescued yet. Do you want the family to spend money to treat you? The roads are bad—don’t make things harder for everyone.”
Jiang Murong was too scared to speak or cry, staring blankly at his elder brother and then at the new sister, anxious inside.
Seeing both brothers calm down, Jiang Yuyan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yuyan, do you… have any way to save Muyi? If you can, I’ll do anything you ask.”
“Big Sister Yuyan, I can also help, as long as we can save Second Brother.”
Jiang Yuyan could only sigh and tell them, “Yes, otherwise why would I have gone to town today?”
“However, we don’t need to act ourselves. Once the police get the clues, they will investigate. I believe Second Brother will be released in a few days.”
She had already surveyed the alley corner house today and quickly informed the police. They would soon find out what was happening there.
If she guessed correctly, that corner house was an important hideout for those criminals.
They were bold, living right under the police’s nose without fear of being caught.
It was truly the case that “the more dangerous the place, the safer it seems.” No wonder the police had searched for so long without finding any traces.
The Next Day
After breakfast, Jiang Yuyan wanted to go up the back mountain for a walk and to see if she could pick some herbs.
Her mother was worried about her going alone.
“Little one, you’re new here. Even locals can get lost on Shishan. I don’t feel comfortable with you going alone. Why don’t you take Third Brother with you?”
Nothing was wrong with that.
Finally, Jiang Yuyan took her basket and went up the mountain with Jiang Murong. Their father went to the fields, and their mother stayed home to care for the eldest son.
Their house was at the foot of the mountain, so they didn’t meet any villagers on the way.
Jiang Yuyan and Jiang Murong climbed halfway up the mountain, exhausted, barely able to straighten their backs.
Her original body was too weak; she would need to train more. Otherwise, when she became a herbalist and had to climb the mountains frequently, she wouldn’t have the strength.
Jiang Murong handed her water. “Take a rest, no rush, drink some water.”
Jiang Yuyan shook her head, taking out her own prepared water. “Third Brother, you drink. I also brought water.” She gulped down a big mouthful.
Seeing she wasn’t being polite, Jiang Murong took back the water for himself.
“I thought… you’d be uncomfortable living here, since you grew up in the city. You might look down on us country folks.”
Because Jiang Yue had looked down on them that way. She had even stolen the family’s money in a pinch, leaving them no backup plan.
Jiang Yuyan tapped her sore calves. “Third Brother, what do you think city people are like?”
“I don’t know, but… they probably look down on villagers, right?”
“Then you’re wrong. Even in the village, there are distinctions, let alone in the city. Not all city people look down on villagers. Many actually admire the countryside because the harvests are abundant.”
Jiang Murong paused. “Hmm… that actually makes sense! I was thinking wrong, sorry.”
Jiang Yuyan smiled and shook her head. She was about to say something else when she noticed a herb and ran over, brushing aside weeds to observe it carefully.
Seeing the familiar tender leaves, she realized she wasn’t mistaken—this was…
“Little Sister Yuyan, what are you looking at?” Jiang Murong asked, coming closer. “Hey, isn’t this Bituhong?”
“You’ve seen this herb before?” Jiang Yuyan swallowed.
“Yes, it’s an herb. I’ve seen many like this. Do you want it? I can take you there.”
Jiang Yuyan nodded and carefully dug out the plant with soil and roots, storing it safely.
Further along the mountain edge, there was a large patch of red fruit, the Bituhong Jiang Murong had mentioned.
Jiang Murong was rarely so curious about his new sister’s excitement. “Sister, what’s this Bituhong used for?”
“This red… Bituhong can promote blood circulation and remove bruising. It will help Big Brother’s leg injury. It can be applied externally or boiled into a medicinal soup. Third Brother, help me pick it!”
Jiang Yuyan was familiar with harvesting herbs, moving quickly, and soon had gathered a large batch.
Hearing it could help Big Brother, Jiang Murong picked without hesitation, not caring about anything else.
After collecting most of it, Jiang Yuyan noticed another rare herb nearby.
For someone from the 25th century, where radiation had sterilized the land, finding this was almost like entering paradise.
As the sun set, Jiang Yuyan and Jiang Murong had filled a whole basket with herbs.
“Sister, we should go back. If we’re later, Father and Mother will worry.”
Jiang Yuyan agreed but almost slipped in her haste. Luckily, Jiang Murong caught her.
“Don’t rush, Sister. Follow me slowly.”
Jiang Murong led the way carefully, constantly checking behind to ensure she was safe.
By the time they descended and returned home, it was dark.
Her mother ran up. “Oh, you two, why are you so late? We were worried you might have been in trouble—”
Jiang Murong looked helplessly at his sister.
Jiang Yuyan pulled her mother inside and whispered, “Mother, you won’t believe it. Third Brother and I found some really good herbs. Come see.”
“Really? My clever girl! First time going up the mountain and already such a harvest. Much better than others.”
Seeing her mother’s delight, Jiang Yuyan and Jiang Murong finally relaxed.
Inside, they didn’t hide anything. They took out a basket of herbs, along with a large, familiar white root.
“This… could it be…?”